New Delhi: It's a battle of survival for old as bad air adds to cold woes

Kanta Verma was doing perfectly fine till about a week ago.The 82-year-old resident of Greater Kailash in south Delhi went for morning walks regularly, sat in the sun for hours and played with her grandchildren as always.Durgesh Nandan Jha | TNN | December 29, 2015, 08:49 IST

Why older people struggle to remember (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)New Delhi: Kanta Verma was doing perfectly fine till about a week ago. The 82-year-old resident of Greater Kailash in south Delhi went for morning walks regularly, sat in the sun for hours and played with her grandchildren as always. On Thursday, she was rushed to hospital after suddenly developing breathing difficulty. She passed away on Sunday. Doctors said Verma had a chest infection, which was worsened by the cold weather constricting the blood vessels and affecting her heart function.

"Despite old age, she was doing well. Had she survived this winter, she could have lived for another year at least," grieved Asha, her daughter. Her distress is shared by many family members who have lost their elders in the past few days on account of old age, harsh weather conditions or pre-existing illnesses compounded by the chill.

Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant at Apollo Hospital, himself had the parents of two of his friends visiting from the US and UK losing their lives suddenly. "They had come home to celebrate New Year with family and friends. Their parents were old but there was no sign or symptom of any critical illness," he said, and advised families to take extra care of seniors this winter because the cold is exacerbated by the polluted air.

The city is witnessing nearly a 50% increase in heart attacks, said Dr Naresh Trehan, cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgeon and the managing director of Medanta Medicity.

"Pollutants in Delhi's air aggravate the heart function already compromised among the vulnerable due to the cold weather," he said. Dr J D Mukherjee, director and HoD neurology department at Max hospital, Saket, added there was an unusually high incidence of stroke cases too this year.

International studies have shown exposure to cold raises blood pressure because veins and arteries constrict. It puts extra stress on the heart and circulatory system. Elderly people are at higher risk of coronary events because their blood vessels are normally clogged.

Only in India the healthcare financing is very small when compared to the financing by the other forces rather than the patient himself or herself paying out of pocket. Having 70-75% of the expenses as out-of-pocket, in my opinion, is not a right approach to managing healthcare in a country where the patients tend to sub-optimally purchase healthcare if he/she has to pay out-of-pocket.